Sling TV
Company
Sling TV
Role
Product Designer II
Industry
Live TV & Streaming
Date
Aug 2021 - Present
Intro & role overview
For the past four years, I have been a Lead Product Designer at Sling TV, shaping the core viewing experiences across mobile, tablet, web, and TV platforms. My work has been instrumental in enhancing the usability, accessibility, and engagement of our streaming platform. From redesigning the video player to improving the guide, and platform performance, I have driven key initiatives that directly impact how millions of users interact with content daily.
A defining aspect of my role was my deep involvement in UX research. Partnering closely with our research team, I personally led user interviews, prototype testing, heat maps, click testing, surveys, and in-person usability sessions. These insights informed every design decision, ensuring that our products not only met business goals but also resonated with real user needs. I also closely collaborated with product managers, developers, and stakeholders.
Design projects I led at Sling
Main Projects
Video Player: Redesigned Sling TV’s video player to meet industry standards, enhancing visuals, engagement, and content discovery (e.g., episode lists). Within two weeks, viewership increased, with more users watching live content from the beginning using Look-Back.
Guide Overhaul: Led a full redesign to declutter the interface, introduce favoriting, and improve navigation for a smoother browsing experience.
Auto-Play & Picture-in-Picture: Designed and shipped two key features to reduce time to video and boost watch hours, successfully achieving both goals.
Binge Watching: Created an interactive component that users would see to signal that the next episode in the series they're watching is about to auto play. This reduced the user need to leave the video player to go to another episode.
Interactive Features: Developed video player widgets, including a quick channel-flipping tool and a sports score widget for seamless game tuning.
Performance Upgrades: Optimized app components to significantly reduce loading times and improve overall performance.
Early Projects
Android In-App Purchases: Designed the Android purchase flow, allowing users to subscribe directly within the mobile app.
Mobile & Tablet Detail Screens: Collaborated with WillowTree designers to design detail screens for programs and episodes, improving content discovery on mobile and tablet.
Sling Rewards Concept: Delivered early concept screens that became the foundation for the final Sling Rewards design.
Interactive Concepts: Explored social viewing experiences, enabling real-time chats for sports, reality TV, and new releases, with built-in safeguards for a positive environment.
Picture-in-Picture & Autoplay
I used wireframes and low-fidelity prototypes to conduct user interviews, ensuring a seamless experience that avoids overwhelming stimulation. The final design places the component in the bottom right, with a refined focus state on the top left and center to prevent overlap, maintaining clarity while supporting the auto-play feature on the home screen.
The design decisions and development of this project boosted hours watched and decreased the time it took for users to get to video by large margins!
Drag the purple handle to see the before and after image
Skills & learning
I will always cherish the experience I gained at Sling TV. Designing for televisions, refining my web design skills, and working with handheld devices have all contributed to my growth as a designer. I have a deep understanding of safety zones across multiple platforms, a strong grasp of accessible typography at various device scales, and an awareness of how different hardware can completely transform user interactions. Streamlining navigation, simplifying processes, and creating intuitive interfaces at Sling has helped me grow immensely. I also loved collaborating with designers, researchers, product managers, and design managers throughout each project.
During my time at Sling TV, I also honed my skills in low-fidelity design, research, and motion design. One of my projects was creating a new video player loader animation featuring the MAX logo, replacing the old generic orange circle on a black screen. This new animation not only gave the experience a more cinematic feel but also made slow load times feel less noticeable, improving the overall user experience.
My experience
Over the past four years at Sling TV, I've been dedicated to creating simple, intuitive experiences for live TV streaming. I've worked hard to make complex interactions easier, content more discoverable, and ensure accessibility for everyone.
I've put a lot of effort into understanding users and improving the way they interact with the platform. Whether it's refining designs, solving challenges, or collaborating with others, every project has been a chance to make a real difference.
As streaming keeps evolving, I’m excited to keep pushing for better, smarter experiences that people love to use. This journey has been about growth, learning, and making an impact. This is something I’ll carry forward as I continue designing future digital experiences.
Download resume